Queen of Ash

The Moon and The Sun

(For future reference any dress written into this book will have a visual most of the time. These dresses are the dresses that inspired me for the book) 

Emerson

I woke up on my stomach.

The light filtering in through my curtains. If I stayed like this I could barely feel the burns on my back. I wanted to, I wanted to stay like that and forget the day, but I couldn't. Today was the ball and I had to meet with Lelon before then. I looked at the rays of sun pooling on the ground. I took a deep breath and slowly moved from the bed, pushing off of it with my arms. My back screamed in protest. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. I was in a different undergarment, the fabric rubbing against the burn on my back. I gripped on my bed pole to keep from falling and deciding to never get up. Before I could move again I heard a knock on my door. I crossed my arms around my chest, trying to act as normal as I could. The movement caused my skin to pull, I gripped the bed pole.

"Come in," I gritted out. The door slowly opened and Luca peaked into the room. He quickly checked the hallway again before closing the door. "Luca, what are you doing here?" I tried to smile, but from the look on his face, I assumed it was more of a grimace.

"It's not the time to play cute Em." I frowned. He rarely called me Em. He normally thought it was inappropriate. He only did when I saw him outside of work. "I know what happened last night. The healers told me this morning after Adrianus came in here at eight this morning to check on you. They said that you were still out. Which tells me how bad it is." I glanced at the clock on my dresser it was well past nine. Shit.

"I'm fine, really." I knew he didn't buy that for a second.

"Then turn around and let me see your back," I paused, but he glared at me so I relented. I turned slowly trying not to move the fabric along my back. I heard Luca take a deep breath at the sight of it. I still hadn't seen what the aftermath of last night looked like. I knew that I was going to hurt for a few days and that meant that I couldn't wear the dress I had wanted to wear tonight to the ball. Adrianus told every healer in the city not to heal me without his permission, and since I lived with him there was nothing that I could about it, not until I moved far away from him. I was still his ward until I had a place of my own.

I heard Luca's footsteps as he moved across the room he gingerly touched my shoulder. I flinched away from his touch."Em, this is bad. One of the worsts I have ever seen it, even for you." I bit my cheek, Lelon wouldn't be happy if I couldn't go to the ball tonight, we needed that intel.

"It's not that bad," I turned back around to face him. He glared at me and rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, so it might be a little bad." That was an understatement, my back felt raw and at every movement, I thought the entirety of it was going to burst into flames.

"Let me help you."

"How I can't see any healer in the city, there's nothing I can do." Luca pulled something from his tunic pocket. It was a small tin jar. "What is that?"

"I picked it up from a healer. It's a new compound made by healing and enchantment magic. If you start using it now, the burns should be mostly healed by the ball." He wiggled the jar at my face, I tried to snatch it from him but the movement of my arms cause my back to shatter into pain. I grimaced. Luca stopped wiggling the jar around.

"I can't accept that it must have cost a fortune."

"You can and you will. Besides someone me the money to go pick it up with a note saying I was to give it to you." How strange, I don't know who would spend that kind of money on me. It was probably Isla, but we never talked about what happened in the study. He took the jar and placed it in my hand. The metal was cool against my skin. "Let me." He opened up the tin and scooped some out with two fingers. He placed the sticky ointment on my skin and spread it around. The coolness satiated the burning on my back. A numbness settled over my skin. Relief washed through me as the pain edged away from my body.